iandol on sun 4 mar 01
Dear Dayton Grant,
I enjoyed reading your description of using what I presume are well =
abraded, almost polished flat slate pebbles rather than rounded cobbles =
of rock.
But is this any different from using two good hardwood appleseed ribs =
except for the wear and tear if you are using a highly grogged clay?
And thinking about torch drying the clay, which is a widely used =
practice these days. Do you dry on the inside and the outside. Have you =
found that there is a soft core between two hard layers?
I recall that our pottery lecturer,Mr.Charles Bray, used to leave his =
large pots on the wheel head for several hours to let them firm by slow =
evaporation.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis. Redhill, South Australia.
David Hendley on mon 5 mar 01
I call this technique 'delayed throwing' because you
work normally to the point of a thick cylinder, then let
the clay stiffen up before you finish. I've found that
it just takes time. If you torch the clay in a rush the
drying will be uneven and mess you up.
My friend Les Mitchell is the best 'dry thrower' I know.
He makes a 25 inch tall vase out of 25 pounds of clay
in production runs of 8 or 10 at a time.
Here's his method:
Throw each form up to the point of a thick cylinder about
a forearm high, then set the pot (on a batt) on a 'lazy susan'
turntable. He has 10 turntables in a row set up on a work
bench. After each new piece is thrown, he rotates each
turntable a quarter turn as he passes by to set the new
piece in the row.
By the time he's finished the starting stage of #10, "1,
depending on the weather, will be ready to continue throwing.
Rotating the drying pots is a must because air currents
will dry the pots unevenly if they are not rotated.
To finish a pot he uses two metal ribs, inside and outside,
to finish throwing and shaping the pots.
I think big aluminum ribs are perfect for this. I make mine
out of the pieces of highway signs I have left over from
making extruder dies.
--
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
hendley@tyler.net
http://www.farmpots.com/
----- Original Message -----
From: iandol
To:
Sent: Sunday, March 04, 2001 1:23 AM
Subject: Throwing Stones and Accelerated Drying
Dear Dayton Grant,
I enjoyed reading your description of using what I presume are well abraded,
almost polished flat slate pebbles rather than rounded cobbles of rock.
But is this any different from using two good hardwood appleseed ribs except
for the wear and tear if you are using a highly grogged clay?
And thinking about torch drying the clay, which is a widely used practice
these days. Do you dry on the inside and the outside. Have you found that
there is a soft core between two hard layers?
I recall that our pottery lecturer,Mr.Charles Bray, used to leave his large
pots on the wheel head for several hours to let them firm by slow
evaporation.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis. Redhill, South Australia.
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